Restaurant serving mechanism



RESTAURANT SERVING MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 3. 1920- 2 SHEETS-ESHEET I- I, IM

R. A. II/IABRY, RESTAURANT SERVING MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 3, I920.

Patented Feb. 1,1921.

' Z SHEETSSHEET 2- T at? Betti: citiz log ha ful Insiders; IN estaii'rant Serving Mechanis o fe following is a specifica 't iti n' e beinghhadtothe acthe kitchen to This i vention relatesto restaurant equipment,arid particularly/to means whereby orders m translf d from tables in arestauranlitotthekitc nd whereby food may be transferred. from thekitchen to the whereby the chef or other person in a thority in thekitchen willbe notified when an order has beenreceived, and whereby thefood may be placed upon trays, in turn disposed upon a carriage and bythe carriage. transferred into the dining room to] the servingcounter,the construction being such as to permit the trays to be removedfrom the carriage and the carriage returned to the kitchen and the\trayu sed by the "waiter doorway intersecting thychute.

to carry the food to the customer.

further object iSjtO provide a constructionof this kind whereintroughelike conveyers are used in wh ch the Order hiIding balls or likerolling members maybe used to carry the orders to the kitchen or carrymessages from the kitchen to the waiter at. the counter, and in thisconnection provide means associated with each'table or with counterswhereby the guests may deposit theorder containing balls within thecon-" tainer chute of a trough.

Another ob'ect .is to provide a gonstruc- .2;

tion of this 0 aracterawhereinithe winner a the dining r In withcounters E alone and 110';

behind which thejavaiter ;o rgtiienperson normally stands is tonne-clawhiuioor. the ...miveye1;

with, andbei I -When the oor is opened passage of the rdthk'en to theguests tabl iroom .inight be et'giipped with the tables ri al .No. seeng. i r l or referred tfi, ywhich the orders are to the kit/oi en, andthe door being so w eted t at a section of the chute is jrled throug thedoor and swin 5 therefurther constructe so that tatableelement's-through the chute is prevented untilt e door is again closed.

A further bj'ectgis to provide a menu card and order bian kypeculiarlydesigned to be used in connection with a restaurant equipped with theappliance heretofore referred Other objects will appear in the course oftheyfollorr ving description.

My iitiention is illustrated in the accompanyingidrawin 's, wherein s-Figure- 1 is a iagrammatictop plan View of a restaurant arranged inaccordance with my invention"; a Fig. 2 is aside elevation looking at.thei rear of counter E; f Fi 3 is a fragmentary sectional View; throughone of the tables G and the correspondlng chute 11; f E10. 4 is a detailsectional view of the kitchen end of chute '10 showing the ordercarrying-ball in section; a v

Fig.f 5 is a longitudinal sectional-view of the tray carrying caror-truck;

/ Fig. 6 is a side elevation of the gate; I

Fig. 7 is a section on the line 7-7'01 Fig. 8 is a section on the line8--8 of Fig. 6; a ig. 9 is a section on the line 9-.-9"-of Fig. 6;

Fig. 10 is a face view of the menu card; v

F ig. 11 is a face view of the order card. .95

Referring to these drawings, and petition-- larly to 1, A designates thedining room of a restaurant, and B the kitchen x thereof. Within therestaurant a e I'disposed apluralityof tables C arranged, as .100,illustrated, in transverselydiagonal zlines, and on the opposite side ofthe l fi iui'ants there is disposed a counter E, whichf may-be;

a counter at which food is servedlalid eaten, or perform the function ofa mereiserving 10a table or counter to which the food is delivered andfrom which the waiter carriesthe food to the various tables.

It will be; understood that I may equip do awav with they tables C, orthe dining reaches end the counters E not housed as counters for eatingat all but merely for sci-vin Behind the counter E is a passageway Twherein the waiter .or waiters ordinarily stand.

Extending longitudinally along one side of the dining room and enteringthe kitchen is a troughshaped conveyor 10 which, however, might betubular in form if desired, and extending through or adjacent to theseveral rows of tables are lateral brunch conveyors ll which may be inthe form of troughs or of tubes. If these conveyors are inithe form oftubesintersecting the tables C, openings 12 116 f0i1118d in each table,either one opening in the middle of the table or two openings adjucen'bthe corners of the bible, for instance, which openings discharge intothe'troughs 11 by means of vertical pipes 13.,if desired, depending uponthe distsnce of the branch pipes or tubes 11 from the surface of thetable. These branch pip s or tubes 11 will, of course, inclinedownwardly and laterally toward the chute or trough 10am; dischargethereinlzo. The trough l0 eidends longitudinally end down- Werdly towardthe kifichen so that the ball or other object discharged into ihe trough10 from one of the branch chutes 11 will roll into the kiichen B. T heslough 10 ml; its extremity Wlbllln the kitchen B has at ins end bell14%,which bell may be suitable character, but is provided hell mundingsiezn 15.

of any with n l. have illustrated a. ball 16 us being the Ejneenswhereby an order is carried from l nses an one of the tables C into thekitchen. ball may be made o? woo-ll nil. 2y be either formed in two secs(seen ed ogeiher like the cl'isi'lge cs in e cash carrier system, or, asillustrate 1 may have the diametrically extending rcee 16 or bore Wherethe order, rolled placed. In any case, the guest deposits order withinthe recess 1%, dr fihfm'lgh she proper opening into 11 or otliez'wisedeposits the huchnie, and the bell rolls clown "i1 so oh. 10 and novelson chel; portion of the chut lzihzhen and *hen strikes the hell l6, ringthe bell so as $0 worn the order has been i'ewived.

Zheve l iliusti echni e Z. ing long"; ell- E, ii-hen in the chose 1Q Wl.in or are lei-gay be deposileol in 12 in co'iinler carried to she kitchn by means 01 ball 16' ihe some inennerss heretfore described. it is, ofcoins-e, nccesssi f or desin able to provide an opening in ehis counterl5 meme room so is to wait upon the guests al 'llu tables. To this one,I form :1 gap (l in the counter E, and this gap is uornmll closed by agate 17. This gale is preferably made in two sections. The upper sectionhas ils lower edge inclined downwardly and {0-- wsrd the kitchen, thelowerporliou huviu c its upper edge inclined downwurdlv and toward thekitchen. These sections are joined at intervals by st UPS 17, anddisposed between these sections and held in place by the straps 17 isthe conveyor section which may be tubular or in the form of a trough, asdesired.

The gutc is hinged to the corner post. 18 or end of the counter sectionby any suituble hinges which will permit the gate to swing;- in both.directions, and l have illuslrulcd bhese hinges as comprising staples orequiv lent elements 19 having eyes through which t-runnions 20 puss,these li'unulons being disposed inward of the rear end of the ,Itlil.Curried upon the gate and extending longitudinully over the spacebetween the upper and lower sections oi the gate are the oldwardly bowedshields 21. which, when the gate turns from a position in ulineincntwith the chute 10 at the rear end of the gate, close the forwerd end ofthe chute section loand prevent the dischurgc oi the carrier hulls intothe chulc section 1U curried by the The gate may be. as beforercnnu'lcud. pivotally mounted for oscillulion in either direction beyondhis middle position and yieldingly held in iis middle guisiliou by Iisoring or sgn'ings, but I have illustrated for this pi vpose an arm 5"eilzzched to he end of the counter or p 1 this :1 mi exlcndiu r out somedismnce irom the gum and being provided with springs 23 onguging thegun. There are two of these springs {58 and they are loceued on oppositesides of ihu uri'iul center of the gate, but the l'UifiblYO coon-1'which extends through the trunnion: 2o so tho" when the gate isoscillated in one dion, one of these springs will be relaxed b "therlensioned. and thus lho "'ui'e {urns to its uiiddlo posiiioo mun ineiiber klllfli'llilll.

may o- H (lining room and v P i o 11 any eon-s and l'hesc used, Will becon- 'Elllll-Cfl (is llie ,a iifie H3 k. l i

11 i al ill kitchen into the space beneath the counter E at one sideof'the gate, this track being designated 24. There are two rails of thistrack mounted on a suitable supporting structure, and .from the terminalend of the track 24 but below the same extends a track I 25 extending ata downward inclination into the kitchen. A car 26 having wheels 27 isadapted to run on these tracks, this car having a traydike bodysupported on the axles in any suitable manner, as by the cui-ved bars28, which curved bars in turn support the bearings for the wheels.Thesecurved bars carry at their ends the buffers 29 which are urgedoutward by springs 30. There is a buffer on each end of the car so thatwhen the car reaches the end of the tracks in either direction, itwill,be stopped without such jar aswould tend to disarrange the foodcarried on the car. Capable of being disposed within the tray-like body26 is a serving tray 31 having handles whereby it itti maybe easilymanipulated, this tray fitting within the tray-like body 26 and thehandles extending upward and laterally so as to make the tray convenientto handle.

-ne or more cars are used. and the cars are adapted to be disposed uponthe upper tracks 24 in the kitchen and then allowed to pass downwardthrough a suitable aperture in the wall .to the discharge end, of thetrack. There the waiter lifts out the tray 31 with the food therein andcarries the food to the customer, or deposits the tray on the counterand then removes the truck or car, places it on the lower track clip mabe provided upon the tray in which a the or e'r blankflmaybe supported,or any other means may be provided for holding the order blank andpreventing its becoming lost of! the .tray.

Sometimes it may be necessary forthe chef or other person within thekitchen to send a message to the waiter or counter man, as for instance,that food which has been ordered cannot be served, or the order is notunderstood, or the "like, and for that purpose I provide a secondtroughdike chute 32 extending downward from the kitchen into the spacebehind the counter and a lower chute 33 extending fromv the space behindthe counter downward into the kitchen. A ball orballs, such as the ball16, are used for the purpose of carrying. messages back and forthbetween the kitchen and the counter man. The cou nter end of the u perchute is provided with a bell, such as t 1e bell 14, operated in thesame kitchen and of the, lower-chute is also menu card.

provided with a bell of the same character so that when a ballcontaining a message ar -rives beneath the counter, it will sound asignal bell, warning the waiter, and on its return, when it arrives inthe kitchen, it will sound the signal bell. a

It will be noted that the conveyer or trough 10 extends beneath the rearedge of the counter E and that the counter is provided with openings12,these openings being preferably connected by small sections of pipe 13to the chute. Of course, the

chutes 32 and 33 terminate short of the outer in, Fig. 10. This menucard will have the articles of food stated in columns 35, these columnsbeing intersected by transverse lines to form spaces 36 within which thename of the article is to be written or printed,

each space 36 beingpreceded by a number space 37 and succeeded by aprice space 38. The seats ofthe tables are numbered consecutively, andthe combination order card and check 39 has at its top a plate number,that is a number indicating the seat from whichtl ie order card came,and also preferably has a serial number so that the total numberoftdiners or guests served at the end of the-day may be easily computed.This combination order card and check 39 is divided into squaresindicated in Fig. 11 as.

being numbered from 1 .to 20 and come sponding to the number of articleson the The guest orders what he desires b marking an X on the numbers onthe or er card corresponding to the numbers on the menu card whichrepresent the articles wanted. Of course, it will be understood that thenumbers on the menu card and the numbers on'the order card maybe as manas desired, and that where a list of specia s. areto be .used ea'c'hday,t'he numbers for them will begin. with "the next consecutive numberfrom the last number on the regular menu card. Thus the order card maycontain more than 20 s aces, 20-of these'spaces being for the stanardarticles normal y'served and the remainder of the spaces'for' thespecials. y

After making a selection from the menu card and checking his; order uponthe order card, the customer rolls the card loosely'in place in thecavity w' in ball 16 and the ball is deposited in one of the openings 12in the table and is carried by the cougeyenlflto the kitchen, Where itrings the bell 15 and notifies the chef of its arrival. Vi hen the foodis delivered to a customer, the numbers of the articles ordered will bepunched through the order card to prevent the customer from erasing themark over the articles ordered and selecting and marking numbers whichrepresent articles of a cheaper price, as this card is used as a checkto the cashier when the customer pays. The bill is rendered upon thecolumns at the lower portion f the card which are marked with cents,nicliles, dimes and quarters. This is particularly designed for use witharticles which are sold in the dining room, and this method prevents twosets of quunbers frombeing used and the liability of patrons gettingconfused with two The menu card will, of course, have thereoninstructions for the use of the order card and also instructions to thecustomers to write any special orders not listed or cool:- inginstructions on the reverse side of the order card.

It will be understood, of ,course, that the conveyers 10*" may beentirely concealed so that they will not be obvious and that the tubularchutes 1 1 are relatively small, and may, if desired, be disposed in thefloor of the restaurant, the pipes 13 extending downward at aninclination to the floor and entering these pipes or chutes.

I claim 1. In a restaurant having a,dinin;z room and a kitchen, series02'. structures in the dining room wbereat food-may be eaten, means forconveyingan order from any one of said structures into the kitchen, aserving counter in the dining room adjacent one wall thereof, mechanicalmeans for conveying trays of food from the kitchen to the servingcounter in the dining room and returning the empty trays of dishes frointhe serving counter back to the kitchen and disposed between the servingcounter and the wall whereby said mechanical means shall be concealedfrom persons dining.

2. In a restaurant having a dining room and a kitchen, a, wall disposedwithin the dining room and having an opening in. length, a swinging gatenormally ciosingsaid opening, a gravity conveyor ex iding: from theoining room to the kitchen and disposed adjacent said unli, a .ion saidconveyor being srngported by the gate in alinement with the body oi theconveyor when the gate is closed, order carriers inse'tible into saidconveyor and adapted to travel by gravity through said conveyer to thekitchen, and means carried by the gate preventing; passage of ordercarriers through that portion of the conveyor beyond the gate when thegate is open.

3. In a restaurant having a dining room and kitchen, a counter disposedwithin the dining room and having an opening; in its length, a. swinginggate normally closing said opening, and a gravity conveyor cxtendiugfrom the dining room. to the kitchen and disposed beneath said counter,a section of said conveyor being supported by the gate in alinement withthe body of the conveyer when the gate is closed, .rdcr carriersinsertible into said conveyor and :uleptcd to travel by gravity throughsaid conveyor to the kitchen, and means carried by the gate forpreventing passage of order curriers through that portion of theconvevcr beyond the gate when the gate is opened.

4. In a restaurant having :1 dining room and a kitchen, a counterdisposed within the dining room and having; an opening); in its length,a gateadaptcd to swing and normally closing said openiiug, and asectional conveyer leading at a downward inclination from the diningroom into the kitchen. one section of the conveyor being mount:- ed onthe counter beyond said opening". another section of the convevcr beingmounted on the counter between the opening; and the ritchen, and a thirdsection of the conveyor being mounted upon the gutc. the last namedsection being disposed in aliucmcut .with the first named sections whenthe grate is in its closed position, and shields carried by the grateand normally closing the exit end of the first named section when thegate is opened.

5. In a restaurant, a downwardl inclined order conveyor formed insections and iii-- clined in one direction, two of said sections beingfixed, and a third section being disposed between the first named fixedsections. a support for the third named section hinged at one end forswinging movement and normally held in a position causing the sectionsto aline but movable to carry the third named section into angularrelation to the first named sections, and shields disposed inconjunction and movable with the third named section and closing theoutlet opening of that section (lischarging into the third named.section. when the gate is swung in either direction.

'6. in a structure of the character dcscrib-ed, a gravity conveyorincluding three sections, two of said sections being: ilxwl.

a udaptcd'to swing in opposite ililcctions and to which the thirdsection is fixed at point between the first named sections.

springs urging said gate into a normal po sition where the third namedsection aliucs with the first named sections, and urcuute shieldsattached to said gate on opposite sides thereof and bowed outward inopposite directions and disposed coi'u-cutricully to the pivotal centerof the gate and :1 cling to close the discharge end of that section edon the gate when the gate is opened in either direction.

7. In a structure of the character described, a conveyer including twodownwardly extending sections spaced from each other, a gate disposed inthe spacebetween said sections, said gate having an upper portion and alower portion, means supporting the gate for swinging movement in eitherdirection, springs adapted to return the gate to normal position, aconveyer section mounted between the upper and lower portions of thegate and when the gate is in normal position forming a continuation ofthe two 15 j sections, members connecting the upper and lower portionsof the gate, and outwardly bowed shields attached to the opposite sidesof the gate in alinement with the conveyer section therein andconcentric to the axis of the gate whereby to close the discharge end ofthat section of the conveyer which discharges into the section carriedby the gate. In testimony whereof I hereunto afiix my signature.

RAYMOND A. MABRY,

